Manny Ramirez

Baseball Player

• Born: May 30, 1972
• Place of Birth: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

SPORT: Baseball

Early Life

Manny Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on May 30, 1972. His father, Aristides, was a factory worker, while his mother, Onelcida, worked as a seamstress. Ramirez attended school in the afternoon and played baseball every morning and evening. In 1985, his family moved to Washington Heights, Upper Manhattan, in New York City. He attended George Washington High School, where he played varsity baseball. His high school coach, Steve Mandl, considered him a dangerous hitter because he hit the ball so hard. From 1988 to 1990, Ramirez led George Washington to three straight Manhattan Division Championships, and he received all-city honors from 1989 to 1991. In 1991, he topped New York City high school players with a .630 batting average and twenty-one home runs and was named New York City high school player of the year.

The Road to Excellence

The Cleveland Indians selected the 6-foot, 205-pound, right-handed Ramirez in the first round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) amateur draft in June 1991—the thirteenth overall pick. He performed well at Bristol, Tennessee, in the Class-A Appalachian League in 1991; at Kinston, North Carolina, in the Class-A Carolina League in 1992; at Canton/Akron, Ohio, of the AA Eastern League; and at Charlotte, North Carolina, of the AAA International League in 1993. In September 1993, he debuted in the major leagues with Cleveland.

From 1995 through 1999, while playing in the outfield, Ramirez helped power Cleveland to five consecutive American League Central crowns. In 1995, he batted .308 with 31 home runs and 107 runs batted in (RBI) during the regular season and .286 with 2 solo home runs against the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series (ALCS). He homered once and had two RBI in the World Series loss to the Atlanta Braves.

In 1996, Ramirez hit .309 with 33 home runs, 112 RBI, and a career-high 45 doubles. In 1997, he had a .328 batting average and homered twice in the ALCS against the Baltimore Orioles. Although he struggled against the victorious Florida Marlins in the World Series, he still hit two home runs and had six RBIs.

The Emerging Champion

Ramirez's peak offensive production with Cleveland started in 1998 and extended through 2000. In 1998, he belted 45 home runs, had 145 RBI, and tied major-league records in September. This was for hitting four consecutive home runs, as well as hitting five out of the park in two straight games. He also hit six homers in three consecutive games. He excelled postseason against the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series (ALDS) and the New York Yankees in the ALCS.

In 1999, Ramirez led the American League with a .663 slugging percentage and a career-high 165 RBIs, thus breaking Hal Trosky's franchise RBI record. He also batted .333 with 44 home runs. Arguably, his best major-league season came in an injury-riddled 2000 campaign, when he led the American League with a .677 slugging percentage and batted a career-high .351 with 38 home runs and 122 RBI, playing in only 118 games.

In December 2000, the Boston Red Sox signed Ramirez to a $160 million, eight-year contract. From 2001 through 2006, he helped Boston finish second behind the New York Yankees in the AL Eastern Division. In 2007, the Red Sox won the division. Ramirez drove in a team-record 31 runs in April, 2001 and finished the season with a .306 batting average, 41 home runs, and 125 RBI. Although sidelined for over a month in 2002 with a broken finger, he led the American League with a .349 batting average.

Ramirez helped lift the Red Sox to the playoffs in 2003, heading the American League with a .427 on-base percentage. He ranked second with a .325 batting average. He belted 37 home runs, compiled 104 RBI, and had a .587 slugging percentage. Besides hitting .310, he homered twice and had 4 RBI in the ALCS loss to the New York Yankees.

Continuing the Story

Boston fared even better in 2004, as Ramirez led the American League with 43 home runs and a .613 slugging percentage and batted .308 with 130 RBI. In the ALDS against the Anaheim (later Los Angeles) Angels, he hit .385 with 7 RBI. He batted .300 in the dramatic ALCS against the New York Yankees. The Red Sox became the first team in professional sports to overcome a 3–0 postseason deficit in games and won a World Series title for the first time in eighty-six years. Manny was selected the Most Valuable Player for the World in batting .412 with one home run and 4 RBIs in the sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals.

In 2005, Ramirez matched his career-best with 45 home runs and had 144 RBI. He homered twice in the ALDS loss to the Chicago White Sox. The following season, he led the American League with a .439 on-base percentage and produced 35 home runs and 102 RBI in only 130 games. However, the Red Sox missed the playoffs. Although Ramirez was sidelined the last month of the 2007 season, Boston won its first AL East Division crown since 1995. Ramirez batted .375, hit two home runs, and had a .615 on-base percentage and a 1.125 slugging percentage in the ALDS sweep of the Los Angeles Angels. He hit .409 with two home runs and 10 RBIs as Boston overcame a 3–1 deficit to defeat the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS. Manny set a major-league record with his twenty-fourth career playoff home run. Boston swept the World Series against the Colorado Rockies.

Amid his continuing success behind the plate Ramirez developed a reputation for quirkiness. This included going inside Boston's famed Green Monster scoreboard while playing left field. His antics were summed up by the phrase "Manny being Manny." This eccentric behavior alternately made him a favorite of fans and the media and an occasional challenge for teammates and coaches. During the 2008 season, he got into altercations with teammate Kevin Youkilis and Red Sox coaching staff members. He refused to play at times and showed little effort on defense, though he did become the twenty-fourth MLB player to reach five hundred home runs. Reportedly unsatisfied with his contract situation in Boston, Ramirez demanded a trade. The Red Sox granted his wish and sent him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was embraced by the fans and media immediately. In fifty-three games with the team, he hit .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI. He helped the Dodgers turn a mediocre season into an improbable run in the playoffs. In early 2009, he signed with the Dodgers for two more seasons.

In May 2009, Ramirez was suspended for an MLB-standard fifty games after he tested positive for a banned substance later reported to be a drug associated with steroid use. After he returned from the suspension, additional reports surfaced that he was one of a group of over one hundred players who had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during an MLB-wide survey in 2003. His 2010 season with the Dodgers was injury-plagued, and he was claimed on waivers by the Chicago White Sox near the end of the season. He played in twenty-four games for Chicago. During the offseason, he signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. However, he only played five games in the 2011 season before suddenly retiring after testing positive for a banned substance once again and facing a one-hundred-game suspension.

Ramirez's downfall came at a time of intense scrutiny of steroids in baseball, as Barry Bonds, another of the game's all-time great hitters, was undergoing a perjury trial related to his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. The controversy blemished his otherwise outstanding career, including his possible consideration as a candidate for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Ramirez attempted several comebacks, agreeing to be reinstated to the MLB and serving a reduced fifty-game suspension. He attempted a comeback in signing with the  Oakland Athletics in 2012, the Texas Rangers in 2013, and the Chicago Cubs in 2014. He was unable to get out of the minors with any organization, though he found some success as a coach and mentor with the Cubs' minor league affiliates.

Ramirez also turned to playing outside of the United States. In 2013, he played a season in the Dominican Professional Baseball League. In the same year, he also played in Taiwan. In 2017, Ramirez played in Japan. He made one final attempt at professional baseball by signing with teams in New Zealand and Australia in 2020 and 2021, but these plans were curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2023, the then 51-year-old Ramirez was inducted into the Cleveland Guardians (formerly the Indians) Hall of Fame. At the time, he announced his intention to play baseball in 2024 in the Czech Republic, although this did not materialize.

In April 2024, Ramirez was one of forty former Boston Red Sox players honored for the twentieth anniversary of the 2004 season. For Red Sox fans, this was the magic year when Boston ended its eighty-six-year drought by winning the World Series.

Summary

In his nineteen major-league seasons, Manny Ramirez hit .312 with 2,574 hits, 555 home runs, 1,831 RBI, a .411 on-base percentage, and a .585 slugging average in 2,302 games. He appeared in the postseason eleven times, including four World Series. His postseason numbers included a .285 batting average, 29 home runs, and 78 RBI. He made the American League All-Star team twelve times and won The Sporting News's AL Silver Slugger honor nine times. On two occasions, he homered three times in a game, and he hit twenty-one career grand slams. Ramirez was an extraordinary hitter with exceptional bat speed and power, though his achievements were shrouded in controversy after he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs late in his career.

Bibliography

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"Manny Ramirez." MLB.com, 2024, www.mlb.com/search?q=Manny Ramirez&playerId=120903. Accessed 22 June 2024.

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Withers, Tom "Still the Manny: Slugger Manny Ramírez Returns to Cleveland for Induction into Team’s Hall of Fame." AP, 19 Aug. 2023, apnews.com/article/manny-ramirez-guardians-hall-of-fame-f15618697555491ca3cf9670a933deff. Accessed 22 June 2024.